This year, five teams will run the Belfast City Marathon relay in honour of my dad, Martin Hull—and to help raise awareness of the rare cancer that took his life.

Running was one of Dad’s greatest passions. He was a regular at parkrun, logged over 9,500km on Strava, and completed 13 marathons in his lifetime, including three Belfast City Marathons. He approached running the same way he approached everything in life—with dedication and determination. He researched the best trainers, planned the best routes, and took his pre- and post-run fuel very seriously (often pizza). As a family we travelled with him and cheered him on everywhere from Malaga to Loch Ness, but in recent years one race meant more than any other: the Boston Marathon.

After getting back into running, Dad set his sights on qualifying for Boston. He trained relentlessly, lost weight, and after four marathons in two years achieved the qualifying time he needed (03:14:36). It was the reward for years of dedication.

But the weeks before Boston weren’t easy. Dad began feeling unwell, especially when running, and made several visits to the GP as different pains appeared. Despite this, he refused to give up on the dream he had worked so hard for.

Boston was bittersweet. The atmosphere was incredible, but Dad ran the entire race in intense pain. When we saw him at mile 25—normally too focused to even notice us—he stopped to talk, clearly struggling. Yet his determination carried him forward and he crossed the finish line in 04:52:08. We were incredibly proud, but deep down we knew something wasn’t right.

Two weeks later our world changed. After a trip to A&E we were told Dad had a tumour in his lung. It was impossible to understand how someone so fit—someone who had just run a marathon—could have cancer. Over the following weeks we learned it had already spread to his lymph nodes, pancreas, spine and bowels. Soon after, we were given the devastating news that his illness was terminal.

Despite everything, Dad never lost hope or his faith in Christ. His diagnosis was ALK-positive lung cancer, a rare type that can affect young, healthy people. Medication gave us precious extra time together, and during that time he continued to encourage us—especially my running.

Dad passed away peacefully on 19 August with our family beside him. Four weeks later, I ran the Belfast Half Marathon following the plan he had made for me.

This year we run in his memory. If you can, please support us by donating to help raise awareness, fund research, and support families affected by ALK-positive lung cancer.

Dad never gave up—and neither will we. 🏃‍♂️